A Nation, Stolen

Diego Garcia Island, Indian Ocean, United Kingdom Territory. Rendition Flights Refuelled on the Island in 2002.

Two years ago, I used the above map to illustrate a piece about extraordinary rendition. Located between the east coast of Africa and the West coast of India, Diego Garcia is the largest of the Chagos Islands and until the 1960s had a permanent native population going back generations.

The United States wanted a Pacific military base and they British wanted the friendship. The Chagosians people were obstacles to the UK and US plans.

Stealing A Nation by John Pilger lays out in devastating simplicity how two of the mightiest powers lied their way into their own legal machinations in order to cheat over 2,000 people. The Chagosians were forcibly removed and those that haven’t died “of sadness” continue to live in squalor in Mauritius.